La mente non è un vaso da riempire, ma un fuoco da accendere, Plutarco
La mente non è un vaso da riempire, ma un fuoco da accendere, Plutarco
Caterina Novak
Caterina Novak, mezzo-soprano, was the winner of numerous national and international competitions, and prizes, including the First Prize of the International Renata Tebaldi Competition at the Theatre of Opera of Rome, in which she was honored as the best mezzo-soprano in Europe, the Mario Lanza International Competition, the Placido Domingo International Competition, the Tito Schipa International Competition and many others. She was also the winner of many fellowships including awards to study and perform in Italy and abroad with the Katya Ricciarelli’s Lyric Academy, the Lyric Academy of Torre del Lago, the Academy of Luxemburg and the Rossini Academy of Pesaro. Her performances have also included appearances at the Opera of Rome, Opera of Naples, Opera of Pisa , Opera of Perugia, Opera of Lecce, Opera of Miland, Opera of Turin, the Greek Amphitheater in Taormina, Opera of Messina, Opera of Catania, Opera of Reggio Calabria, the Auditorium Parco della Musica and the Academy of St. Cecilia of Rome. She has performed internationally in the United States ( Middle Tennessee State University Symphony Orchestra), Canada ( Toronto Opera and WinnipegSymphonyOrchestra) , Germany, South America (Coliseo di Buenos Aires, Opera Theatre del Libertador di Cordoba, Casa de la Musica di Quito-Ecuador), Turkey (Opera of Ankara and Smirne), Morocco ( Opera Theatre of Rabat) Cyprus, Japan ( Osaka SymphonyHall) and Korea (Seoul Art Center). She has performed on national and international television and radio including Radio Vaticana, RAI I (National Italian Broadcasting), Televita (Turkey) and RAIInternational (Switzerland). Ms. Novak has performed in numerousnationaland internationalfestivalsincluding the Festivalof the United Nationsin Cypruson behalf of Italy, the FestivalofBaroque of Viterbo,the International FestivalWorld Music,the48thseasonof the International Festivalof Torre delLago and the Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro. She has alsocollaboratedwith otherleading figuresfrom the worlds ofopera andculture such as Magda Olivero, Katya Ricciarelli, JoséCarreras, Luciano Pavarotti, Leo Nucci, Renato Bruson, ClaudioDesderi, Mirella Freni, Rajina Kabajvanska, Riccardo Muti, Alan Curtis, Alberto Zedda, and D.M.Gavazzeni. Her performances have received positive reviews in the international magazine L'Operaand in many other Italian and international journals. Highlights of her past performances include Aida, Trovatore, Nabucco, Un ballo in maschera, Cavalleria Rusticana, Nabucco, Rigoletto, il Tabarro, Lucrezia Borgia, Andrea Chenier, Il viaggio a Reims, Barbiere di Siviglia, Così fan tutte, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, Hansel und Gretel, and Falstaff. Her numerous CD and DVD recordings include : Scarlatti’s “II Pastore di Corinto (World Premiere, Romabarocca Ensemble), Ponchielli’s “Il Figliol Prodigo” (World Premiere, Orchestra Sinfonica di Donetsk), Ponchielli’s “I Mori di Valenza” (World Premiere, Orchestra Sinfonica di Donetsk), Marzano’s “I Normanni a Salerno” (Orchestra Filarmonica del Teatro dell’Opera di Napoli), Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” (Orchestra Accademia d'Opera Italiana), Mozart’s Requiem (Filarmonica di Roma), Cipriani’s Agnus Dei (World Premiere, Orchestra of St. Cecilia, Rome) , Concerto per Renata Tebaldi (live recording at the Opera di Roma), Puccini’s “Il Tabarro” (Orchestra Umberto Giordano di Foggia), Laeta Dies (Orchestra Symphonia Perusina), Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater (Orchestra Barocca di Milano), Bontempo’s Requiem (Orchestra Sinfonica Romana), and Omaggio al Bel Canto (Seoul Symphony). She has presented voice and stagecraft masterclasses at the International Academy Aida Rome), the International Academy Vissi d’Arte vissi d’Amore (Rome), the Middle Tennesse University of Music of Murfreesboro, the Quito Conservatory of Music, the Ankara Conservatory of Music, and in many universities and schools of music, including Seoul, Osaka, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. Ms. Novak was awarded the Cavaliere al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by the President of the Italian Republic in 2009 for her successful artistic career.
